Few feelings in one’s professional life can top the elation of landing a coveted job or promotion: the excitement of new responsibilities, greater prestige, and (hopefully) more money. But that elation often quickly has to compete for emotional bandwidth with a specific flavor of workplace anxiety known as “imposter syndrome.” Many people have probably heard the term but may be unsure about what it really means and if they might be experiencing it themselves.
Origins of the Term
Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes coined the term “imposter phenomenon” in their article, “The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention,” published in Psychotherapy Theory, Research, and Practice Volume 15, #3, Fall 1978. As the title suggests, the term was originally applied by Clance and Imes to women specifically.
